Revisiting the LEADER Project in Skopje: The participants share their lasting impressions

This March, Macedonia2025 hosted a ten-day, intensive business education course titled LEADER Project, which was first launched by the Richard Ivey School of Business in Canada in 1991, by MBA graduates from the school. This is the eighth time that this educational program is taking place in Macedonia and we are delighted for the impact it has on the people who participate in it.

This educational program helped transfer business leadership and analytical skills to 38 participants, most of them young professionals and entrepreneurs. We wish to share with the public the ways in which this educational program inspired progress and forward-thinking among Macedonian managers and entrepreneurs. After the final presentation’s graduation ceremony we asked some of them to give a concluding remark about their experience.

Ilija Trajkovski is the Human Resources manager of the Macedonian bakery chain Specijal. The company has been in business for 24 years and employs 200 people. Ilija told us: “With this approach in transferring skills and the tendency with which Macedonia2025 organized this event, I believe Macedonia can reach important milestones by 2025. I want to thank you for helping put together this amazing experience and I want to thank the instructors who came from Canada to teach us new approaches in the ways how to do business.”

Dejan Dimitrovski is Technology Development Manager at Nextsense- a leading Macedonian IT company focused on developing solutions to help companies improve their business performance. Following his presentation Dejan said: “I met wonderful entrepreneurs and made great new friends at the LEADER Project. The instructors dedicated great effort to give us the best from their knowledge and experience. Now I really feel ready for the next level.”

Elena Gjorevska is a young entrepreneur who owned a hotel that she named Idila. She later partnered with another entrepreneur to found the Idila Terzieva home for the care of the elderly, which is one of the best resorts of this kind in Macedonia. Elena said she now really understands the meaning of the expression “thinking out of the box.” Besides meeting new and exciting people, entrepreneurs like herself, she said that she learned new directions in analyzing numbers- “something that I use in my day to day duties that really helps me put things into perspective.” Elena arranged for few of the instructors to visit the resort to analyze together what could be improved or introduced as new there.

Milorad Milenkovski works as an Export Manager in the Macedonian healthy food company Vitalia. His company is a Macedonian success story: it started out small to become a brand that sells a whole range of products on nearly all continents. Milorad said it had been an honor to be part of the team of leaders and experience that great energy. He thanked the instructors for their dedication and patience and Macedonia2025 for bringing closer the North American approach of doing business to Macedonia.

Lidija Pecov is the CEO and Editor of EntreHub Europe. Even though she is an experienced professional, she acquired many valuable insights at the LEADER Project, which she said will help her to further her career. Lidija said she was honored for having the opportunity to listen to Mike Zafirovski give a lecture on leadership and building up a corporate strategy. “The LEADER project was amazing and it made me believe and be more determined to try and help the younger generation of Macedonia. My goal is to find innovative ways in steering young people towards a more positive and prospective mind-set.”

Ljupco Efremov has PhD in Psychology and works as a Senior Research Consultant for the analytical house GfK in Skopje. Ljupco is also a lecturer in Market Research at University American College in Skopje and the School of Journalism and Public Relations. He said he saw a posting about the LEADER Project on the Macedonia2025 Facebook page and he immediately knew that he could use in his career what was promoted. Ljupco told us that he had been looking for a training of this sort, which would expand his horizons and entrepreneurial skills. “That happened on many different levels,” said he and added, “programs of this quality, such as the LEADER Project, are extremely rare in Macedonia. I am very happy that I had a chance to experience an Canadian MBA classroom right here in Skopje.”

Macedonia2025 wants to thank the Canadian partners at the Canadian Embassy- H. E. Ambassador Philip Pinnington and the Richard Ivey School of Business, for presenting us with the opportunity to be one of the LEADER Project sites around the world.

A speacial note goes to the people who support Macedonia2025 and our Corporate Partners who are contributing to the development of Macedonia by supporting the educational initiatives of our organization.